Homeownership is still valued, county leaders say

Officials and agents praise homeownership

Ventura County Supervisors Kathy Long and John Zaragoza, Oxnard Police Chief Jeri Williams, and a group of real estate brokers and title agents welcomed the National Association of Realtors Home Ownership Matters Bus Tour on Monday.

The tour was wrapping up a nationwide journey in time for the annual Realtors Conference and Expo from Thursday to Sunday in Anaheim.

Promoting homeownership is important because it profoundly affects communities' quality of life, Long said.

"People who have the security of a roof over their head, but also the investment in that roof, are engaged in the community," Long said. "They feel a part of the community and will give their time to nonprofits and give back in other ways. It's not always dollars and cents. It adds to the quality of life."

The Ventura County Coastal Association of Realtors is targeting the plan to modify the mortgage interest deduction that has been proposed by President Barack Obama's deficit reduction committee, association President Janet Dorsey said.

"We are not political. We are issue-driven," Dorsey told about 35 people in the association's parking lot in Oxnard.

"According to the Federal Reserve Board data from 1998 to 2007, a homeowner's net worth has ranged from 31 to 41 times more than that of renters. Even though those numbers may be out of date, the more recent numbers from 2010 suggest that the ratio of homeowners' wealth is now 40 times that of renters — still within that historical range."

It's not only rich people who use the mortgage interest deduction, Dorsey said, citing figures showing 56 percent of taxpayers who claim the deduction make less than $100,000.

Zaragoza said that as a former real estate broker, he supports the National Association of Realtors.

"The deduction is very important. It helps provide more work for people with escrow and title agencies," Zaragoza said. "People who own homes stay in the community much longer. When they buy their homes, there is stability of family. They also maintain their properties better."

Williams echoed what the supervisors said.

"When you own a home, you have that investment in the community. We had a town hall on Saturday where we discussed community-based policing, which is a partnership with aspects of the community with policing," Williams said. "Those homeowners are the ones who are participating."

Michael Padilla, an account executive at Ticor Title in Westlake Village, said incentive programs are needed as the market struggles to become stable.

"Ever since the downturn at the end of 2007, the market has declined. There are different organizations and programs to increase homeownership," Padilla said. "These programs help provide a short-term increase, which is keeping it from bumping along at a slow rate."

The Ventura County real estate market is still suffering and needs all the help it can get from lawmakers, Dorsey said.

"We'd like to state that the prices are stable, but in Ventura County, housing prices have dropped," Dorsey said. "There are a number of factors: the overall economy, it's the slow season and a lack of consumer confidence."